[TRIBUNAL] Insulted by Hanouna, Boyard, “depositary of public authority”

This Tuesday, December 17, the trial of Cyril Hanouna was held, prosecuted by the deputy Louis Boyard for public insult towards a person holding public authority, at the Paris Criminal Court, after a referral on November 18. The case dates back to November 10, 2022 on the set of Don’t touch my post where Boyard was invited to comment on the care of refugees by theOcéan Viking. In this sequence, Boyard sharply criticized Bolloré for his actions in Africa, which earned him copious insults from the star host.

At the hearing, the accused Cyril Hanouna, presenter of the show Touche pas à mon Poste, and Maxime Saada, president and CEO of Canal+, were absent. Me Stéphane Hasbanian and Me Olivier Chappuis represent them respectively. The video sequence of the passing of arms is projected: “ You idiot » ; « You are an idiot » ; « You bastard, go » ; « Jester, go » ; « You are shit » such is the anthology of insults launched by Cyril Hanouna towards his former protégé Louis Boyard, during an intense nine-minute sequence. The insults cited, upheld by the court, were uttered, according to Mr. Boyard, in his capacity as a deputy, while the opposing party explains that they refer to him as a former columnist. The MP also denounces an attempt at censorship on the part of the star host for having criticized Vincent Bolloré, the owner of the C8 channel. As for the defendants’ lawyers, they point to a provocation on the part of Louis Boyard.

The pure intentions of Louis Boyard

Although known for his numerous provocations, the MP explains that he did not come to cause a clash. He recalls that he intervenes on the sets to play politics. According to the banner at the bottom of the screen, he is there as a deputy. Wearing the costume of virtue, the MP recalls that LFI’s political program denounces the concentration of the media and defends the cause of immigration and that it is in this approach that he intervenes.

Asked about the reception of illegal immigrants by theOcéan Vikinghe explains that he first focused on Patrick Pouyannet, president of Total, and his oil project in Uganda, then talked about Bolloré’s involvement because Hanouna asked him to explain it, repeating this: “Bolloré is on trial against 150 Cameroonians whom he plundered by deforesting Cameroon with his oil projects”. A bold assertion, greatly increasing the responsibility of the Bolloré group which “only owns 9.35% of the capital of this Cameroonian plantation, while the Cameroonian State is a 27% shareholder” explained to AFP the Bolloré group’s lawyer, Me Olivier Baratelli, adding that Socfin (the Luxembourg holding company 38.75% owned by Bolloré, Editor’s note), “exercises no operational control over its plantations.”

Me Chappuis, Maxime Saadé’s lawyer, challenges Louis Boyard’s justification: “What is the connection between the Viking Ocean and the deforestation of Bolloré? We must stop making people swallow snakes. »

Hanouna falls into the trap

Me Chappuis, Mr. Saadé’s lawyer, goes further on the intentions of the young deputy since he affirms that the provocation was premeditated. This is what members of LFI would have underlined according to him. To the question of whether Boyard had prepared his coup, former MP Raquel Garrido would have responded favorably. “This sequence happened exactly as he could have hoped, a dream for Boyard. He drank some milk when he saw how Hanouna was out of his depth.”declares not without humor Saadé’s lawyer. He even explains that the complaint for insult was intended to avoid the question of provocation.

Furthermore, the lawyer moderates the scope of the qualifiers used by Hanouna: « [Le qualificatif de] “My darling” clearly shows that Hanouna’s lexicon should not be taken literally, in the same way as when he uses the term “shit”: he does not consider it as fecal matter.. He even points out that the member has no reaction like someone who feels insulted. “Boyard is a professional in political agitation and he explains that he was stunned by Hanouna’s reaction”remarks Me Chappuis. Boyard knew the language elements of this program in which he participated with the use of words like “messing around” and “shit” during previous editions, points out the host’s lawyer, Me Hasbanian. He goes even further to denounce intellectual dishonesty: “Manon Aubry also used the term loser towards Bruno Le Maire. There needs to be consistency. We are not going to cry now about being called a loser, by missing a day in the Assembly at the expense of the taxpayer that we are. »

Louis Boyard’s lawyer is demanding a sentence of 10,000 euros against Cyril Hanouna. Deliberated on February 20, 2025.